Last Monday I attended the SACRA (Staunton Augusta Church Relief Association) benefit concert. It was a joyous event with a variety of musical groups, a large audience, and over $17,700 raised to assist folks in need in our community! That same day, I saw someone ringing the bell for the Salvation Army outside Food Lion with a kettle full of donations. All this as a crew from Covenant delivered coats to the Middle River Regional Jail so that those being released would have something warm to wear as they head out into the cold. It is a time of year when folks across the community step up to help neighbors in need with gifts of toys, food, warm clothing, and financial support. It is a sign of the Christmas spirit among us!
That Christmas spirit is faithful to Christ’s call to us to minister to those in need. Here at Covenant, we try to carry that giving spirit with us throughout the year. Last evening the Session adopted a budget for 2025 that includes $90,000 in Outreach spending. With additional gifts through Glorious Gifts, Four Cents Per Meal, and special offerings, our total support of mission work locally, nationally, and internationally tops $120,000! But it is not only dollars that we share; we also give time and talents by serving meals at Trinity Soup Kitchen, delivering food for Hispanic families, reading to children at Community Child Care, helping out at the Verona Food Pantry, repairing homes with Renewing Homes of Greater Augusta, assisting our refugee family, providing baby showers for women at Gemeinschaft, and more.
As we journey toward Bethlehem this Advent season, take note of the Christmas spirit among us and in you. Then carry that same spirit into the new year so that giving of yourself becomes, not just a seasonal practice, but a daily way of life. In the words of the Christmas carol, we sang yesterday:
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a wise man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.
Merry Christmas!
— John Peterson
